Pleater for sheet material and means for tying and cutting casings



Oct. 24, 1967 M J. G. TIPPER 3,348,458

PLEATER FOR SH BET MATERIAL AND MEANS FOR TYING AND CUTTING CASINGS Original Filed March 27, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 u Q 0 0 N Y 5' 0 m IN\-ENTOR. MAYNARD J 6. UPPER A TTO/PNEV Oct. 24, 1967 M. .1. G. TlPPER 3,348,458 PLEATER FOR SHEET MATERIAL AND MEANS FOR TYING AND CUTTING CASINGS Original Filed March 27, 1964 '7' Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. MAYNARD J 6. T/PPER QNN ATTO/PNEV Oct. 24, 1967 M. J. G. TIPPER 3,343,458

PLEATER FOR SHEET MATERIAL AND MEANS FOR TYING AND CUTTING CASINGS Original Filed March 27, 1964. '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 J FIG. 6 3o INVENTOR MAYNARD J 6. T/PPER BY QM ATTOPNEV Oct. 24, 1967 M J; G. TIPPER 3,348,458

PLEATER FOR SH EET MATERIAL AND MEANS FOR TYING AND CUTTING CASINGS Original Filed March 27, 1964 '7 Sheets-Sheei 4 \/////X///\)///X///////////A 34 32 33 7o s2 63 1 5 FIG. I2

INVENTOR. MAYNARD J 6. T/PPER MUM ATTORNEY 8 5 5 a 4 w 8 h 4 4 3 m 3 w 1967 M. .1. G. TIPPER PLEATER FOR SHEET MATERIAL AND MEANS FOR TYING AND CUTTING CASINGS Original Filed March 27, 1964 INVENTOR. MAYNARD J G. 77PPER war} ATTOPNEV Oct-24, 1967 M. J. G. TIPPER PLEATER FOR SHEET MATERIAL AND MEANS FOR TYING AND CUTTING CASINGS Original Filed March 27, 1964.

7 Sheets-Sheet 6 I K O3 lo4 |oe MAYNARD J 6. T/PPEP INVENTOR.

M w w? G. TIPPER PLEATER FOR SHEET MATERIAL AND MEANS FOR Oct. 24, 196'? l TYING AND CUTTING CASINGS Original Filed March 27, 1964 7 SheetsSheet 7 w I] i INVENTOR. MAYNARD J 6. T/PPER CUM ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,348,458 PLEATER FOR SHEET MATERIAL AND lVmANS FDR TYING AND CUTTING CASINGS Maynard .l. G. Tipper, Gakland, Calif, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Rheem Manufacturing Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of California Original application Mar. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 355,502, now Patent No. 3,261,268, dated .luly 19, 1960. Divided and this application June 2, 1965, Ser. No. 470,259

2 Claims. (Cl. 93-84) This is a division of application Ser. No. 355,502, now Patent No. 3,261,268.

This invention deals with the continuous production of fastened cut lengths of casings. More specifically, it relates to a machine and method of forming continuously, from a tubular roll of easing material, fastened and cut lengths of easing, as desired.

Machines have been made in the past for taking lengths of easing, such as sausage casing, pleating the end thereof, and then fastening the end prior to filling the casing with sausage emulsion, after which the other end is fastened. There has been a demand for some way of producing desired fastened cut lengths of casing from a continuous roll of tubular casing without use of pre-cut lengths of such casing material. Such a method would eliminate inventory of various lengths of pre-cut casings and would also avoid delay due to unavailable lengths and waste due to use of excessively long lengths, or inventory of discontinued lengths. Casing is available in tubular shape, in the form of flattened rolls, the material being plastic film, generally sold as Mylar, Saran, polyethylene, and the like, many types of which are now on the market.

The present invention involves the continuous pleating of the entire length of the casing, as it is fed continuously from a roll, and fastening and cutting the measured lengths, in any desired number, at a rate of 30 bags per minute or even faster.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a front elevational view of a machine of the present invention in actual operation.

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the pleater in closed condition.

FIG. 3 shows an end view of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 presents a to or plan view of the pleater.

FIG. 5 depicts a top view of the bottom half of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the fastener.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 depict the gate side of the lower portion of the fastener with gate closed (FIG. 7), and with gate open (FIG. 8), and the back of the lower portion thereof (FIG. 9), respectively.

FIG. 10 is a more detailed cross-sectional front view of the fastener portion, as applying a fastener on a casing.

FIG. 11 shows a feed side elevational view (with base cut away) of the switching and cutting mechanism.

FIG. 12 is atop or plan view of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of the pneumatic connections involved in the machine.

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of a modified form of pleater.

FIG. 15 is a horizontal section taken in a plane indicated by lines 15-15 of FIG. 14 with the horizontal flanges of the lower pleater elements omitted for clarity.

FIG. 16 is an end elevation of the pleater of FIG. 14 taken from the rear or approach end of the pleater.

FIG. 17 is a cross section of the pleater taken in a plane indicated by lines 17-17 of FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is a scross section of the pleater taken in a plane indicated by lines 18-18 of FIG. 15.

FIG. 19 is an end elevation of the pleater of FIG. 14 taken from the forward or discharge end of the pleater.

3,348,458 Patented Get. 24, 1967 ice FIG. 20 is a side elevation of a typical inner pleater element.

FIG. 21 is a side elevation of a typical outer pleater element.

FIG. 22 is a perspective of a pro-tied length of casing produced by the present invention.

Referring again to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, numeral 15 designates a base on which is mounted a pair of angular supports 16 attached thereto at 17. Only one such support is shown in the side view in FIG. 1. Between supports 16 is mounted shaft 18 carrying a roll 19 of wound, flattened tubular plastic casing. Vertical supports 20 aid in supporting and steadying the angular supports 16. Attached to supports 16 at 21 is lower half 22 of the pleater, the latter indicated generally by numeral 23. The other end of pleater half 22 is fastened to vertical support 24. Also attached to supports 16 '(or 20) at 25 in hinged relation is upper half 26 of pleater 23. It will be noted that the pleater (FIG. 4) base wide feed end 27 and a narrow discharge end 28, from which latter is drawn the pleated casing 48.

A short distance away from the pleater discharge end 28 is mounted (on base 15, at support 29) the fastener 0r clipper unit designated generally by numeral 30. Then, toward the other end 15' of base 15 is mounted the switching and cutting unit, designated generally by numeral 31. The latter is mounted on a sub-base 7 t) which has threaded mounting 34 (FIGS. 1 and 11) on its bottom, which subbase rides in recess 33, in base 15, on lead screw 32, the latter being rotatable by handle 35. By this means it is possible to vary the distance of switch-cutter assembly 31 from fastener 30 to obtain the desired cut length of easing.

As shown in FIGS. 25, both the upper and lower halves 26 and 22, respectively, of the pleater are provided with projecting pleating elements or ridges 36 and 37, respectively (except at entrance area 27'), which ridges are wider apart at the feed ends 27 and very close together at the discharge ends 28 of their respective halves 26 and 22. The upper half 26 of pleater 23 is hinged on support 20 at 25 (FIG. 2) in a manner such that there is a gradual interleaving of the pleating ridges 36 and 37, starting at the feed end where they'are vertically apart at 38 to the dischrage end 28 where they are fully interleaved. The amount of interleaving at discharge end 28 may be adjusted by stop screw 58 to enable easier handling of wider or narrower tubes with any desired depth of folds. Halves 26 and 27 are locked together, for example by loop lock 57, or any other suitable lock, during operation of the unit.

Fastener 30 is mounted directly on base 15 by support 29. The fastening portion unit is similar to that described in copending application Ser. No. 262,761, filed on Mar. 4, 1963, by Maynard J. G. Tipper, and includes a throat portion 41 through which the casing is pulled for the fastening operation. Magazine 42 (FIG. 6) feeds staples into channel 43, and a driver 45 (FIG. 10) in the lower end of air motor 44 drives the staple 46 down channel 43 and crosses the staple ends and crimps the staple against lower crimping die 47 around casing 48.

A new feature on the fastening unit 30 is gate 50 (FIGS. 7-8) which is hinged on shaft 51 held in place in groove 52 by washered screws 53. Shaft 51 has turned end 54 to which is fastened coil spring 55, the other end of the spring being attachul to stand 56 (FIG. 9). The purpose of gate 50 is apparent from FIG. 10. When the fastener is crimped onto the casing 48, and the driver 45 is being withdrawn, it is possible to move the casing, fastener and all, toward the cutter assembly 31 by merely pulling it through spring-loaded gate 50.

It will be noted that the pleated casing is disposed in throat portion 41a of gate 50 so that the gate is closed when the staple 46 is crimped around the casing. The fact that the gate is closed during this operation is important since the closed gate serves as a support for the casing, because the bottom of throat portion 41a is disposed above the level of lower crimping die 47 of the fastener 30 (FIG. 7).Thus the gate serves to prevent the staple points from picking up or piercing the casing during the crimping operation. After the crimping the fastener cannot pass through throat portion 41a, but when the casing is pulled toward switch and cutting unit 31, the staple pushes against gate 50 and thus causes opening of gate (FIG. 10) until the staple passes through, whereupon the gate closes again around the pleated casing.

Switching unit 31 (FIGS. 11-12) comprises thrust plate 61 having throat portion 61a, similar to 47a, in that the throat .permits passage therethrough of pleated casing, but not the fastener crimped thereon. Plate 61 is attached to bar 62 which is hinged on housing portion 15a at 63, so that when a fastened casing is pulled through throat 61a, the thrust of the fastener crimped thereon causes hinged bar 62 to press upon pneumatic switch 64 which transfers pressure from main air lead 65 (FIG. 13) to fastener line 66, and to delay switch 67, which is a conventional switch arranged to delay the switching of air pressure to cutting cylinder 68 for about one-half second, thus giving the fastener adequate time to crimp the casing before its end is cut off by knife 69. Cutter cylinder 68 is mounted on sub-base 70 in a manner such that its plunger, to which knife 69 is attached, will push out knife 69 along the outside of thrust plate 61, thereby cutting off the casing 48 protruding through throat 61a. By turning knob (FIG. 1), sub-base 76 may be moved on screw 32 for the distance required to obtain the desired cut length of casing.

When in operation, the roll 19 of casing tubing is mounted on stand 26. Upper pleater half 26 is raised, and the casing is pulled out until it just extends out of narrow edge 28. Then, the pleater top is lowered and locked, and the pleated casing end at 28 is pulled through throat 41 of the fastening machine. Switch 64 is manually actuated to effect this, and the fastened end projecting from gate is pulled (whereupon the staple opens the gate). After the staple has cleared gate 50, the gate closes and the casing end is pulled through throat 61a. When staple 46 pushes against plate 61, its movement on pivot 63 causes bar 62 to actuate pneumatic switch 64 which causes air pressure from main line 65 to enter lines 71 and 66. The pressure through line 66 causes fastener 39 to crimp on staple 46, while the pressure through line 71 actuates delay switch 67 for a /2--secon'd delay, after which the pressure enters line 72 and cylinder 68, wherein the piston therein carries knife 69 which is pushed past throat 61a to cut olf the casing. Thereafter, the cycle is repeated by pulling the cut casing end at throat 61a.

Although support 26 is shown here as being mounted on base 15, it is to be understood that a separate support for the casing roll may be employed near the feed end of the pleater.

Another form of pleater having certain advantages over the above described pleater is shown in FIGS. 14 through 21.

Before considering the second form of pleater in detail certain features of the pleater shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 should be considered. The arrangement of FIGS. 2 and 4 results in the sheet being very gradually folded from the rear or approach end to the forward or discharge end. Two essential operations take place in the transition between the approach and discharge ends of the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4. One operation is the gradual folding of the sheet along the edges of the pleater elements. The other operation is the reduction in width of the pleats, that is, the compression together of the folds toward the restricted discharge end of the pleater. It is of interest to note in the operation of the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4 that a point on the sheet in engagement with an edge of a pleater element at the approach end of the pleater stays in engagement with such edge along the length of the latter until the sheet is discharged from the discharge end. In other words, there is no transverse displacement of the material relative to the pleater elements but there is of course inward movement of the material toward the central plane of the pleater. Stated another way, there is no sliding movement of the material relative to the pleater elements in a transverse direction but merely sliding movement longitudinally of the pleater elements and the above mentioned compressive movement of the pleats toward the central plane of the pleater. The characteristics inherent in the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4 are such that relatively deep pleats cannot readily be formed. This follows from the fact that the increase in depth of the pleats as the sheet progresses toward the discharge end of the pleater is limited by the amount the pleats can be compressed inwardly toward the central plane of the pleater since, as pointed out above, no transverse sliding movement is permitted between the material and the pleater elements. In summary, it may be said that the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4 lends itself to use in pleating relatively narrow sheets with relatively shallow pleats.

The pleater disclosed in FIGS. 14 to 21 can be used to advantage when the width of the sheet to be pleated is relatively great and also when it is desired to form relatively deep pleats rather than shallow ones. In this connection it should be noted that several advantages accrue from minimizing the number of pleats formed and making the depth of each pleat as great as possible. First, the lesser number of pleater elements employed the less is the friction created and the less power required to pull the sheet through the pleater. Second, the amount of static electricity created by movement of the material through the pleater decreases with the decrease in the friction involved. Also, the lesser number of pleater elements employed the less space is required to perform the pleatmg operation.

Referring now to FIG. 14, the sheet of material to be pleated is provided on a roll generally and supported for rotation on suitable supports such as indicated at 121. A base 122 may be provided for supporting both the roll 120 and the pleater now to be described.

Extending upwardly from base 122 are forward transversely spaced posts 123 and rear transversely spaced posts 124. Supported on the upper ends of said posts are forward and rear transversely extending bars 127, 128, respectively, which may be removably secured to the posts 123, 124 by means of wing nuts 129 secured to studs 125, 126 extending upwardly from posts 123, 124, respectively.

To the lower sides of transversely extending bars 127, 128 is secured an upper mounting plate 138' which serves to support the downwardly extending pleater elements to be described.

In spaced opposed relationship to upper mounting plate 130 is a similar lower mounting plate 131 which serves to support the lower pleating elements to be described. Lower mounting plate 131 is supported on four vertically extending adjusting screws 132 which extend through base 122 at their lower ends and which are secured against rotation at their upper ends to the lower mounting plate 131. Said adjustment screws 132 are threadedly received in internally threaded bearings 133 which, in turn, are each provided with a sprocket 134. A continuous chain is reeved about the four sprockets 134 so that upon movement of chain 135 in one direction the sprockets 134 all rotate in the same direction to move lower mounting plate 131 upwardly or downwardly depending on the direction of movement of chain 135. At this point it will be noted that this structure provides a simple and effective method of translating the lower pleater elements upwardly and downwardly to adjust the depth of the pleat desired. As will be seen later on such adjustment is also useful for starting the pleating operation by facilitating the movement of the sheet through the pleater.

In thev drawings the upper pleater elements which extend downwardly from the upper mounting plate 130 are numbered 101, 103, 105, 107 and 109. The lower pleater elements that extend upwardly from the lower mounting plate 131 are numbered 102, 104, 106 and 108. It will be noted that there is one central upper pleater element 101 extending along the central plane of the pleater and an equal number of identical pleater elements on opposite sides of the central pleater element. Pleater elements 101, 102, 103 and 104 are illustrated in FIG. 20 and it will be noted that a horizontally extending flange 140 is formed integral with each of the above mentioned pleater elements to permit securement of the same to the associated mounting plate 130 or 131. Said flange 140 may be secured to the associated mounting plate by means of screws which are not shown in some of the views for the sake of clarity. The pleater elements 105, 106, 107, 108 and 100 are illustrated in FIG. 21 and each of said elements is provided with a horizontal flange 141 for securement to the associated mounting plate. In FIG. the flanges 140 and 141 of the lower pleating elements are omitted for clarity.

From FIGS. 15 and it will be noted that the central upper pleater element 101 and the adjacent six pleater elements 102, 103 and 104 are provided with sheet engaging edges 142 parallel to the flange 140. The rear or approach end of each of the pleater elements 101, 102, 103 and 104 is provided with a curved edge 143 as indicated. As seen in FIG. 21 the remaining pleater elements are provided with sheet engaging edges 145 which are inclined downwardly in the case of the upper pleater elements and upwardly in the case of the lower pleater elements so that sheet engaging elements of such pleater elements converge toward the sheet to be pleated. A similar curved end 146 is provided for said remaining pleater elements.

It will be noted at this point that the seven inner pleater elements 101, 102, 103 and 104 are provided with coplanar sheet engaging edges 142 whereas the corresponding sheet engaging edges 145 of the remaining ten outer pleater elements are inclined as above indicated. The angle A indicated in FIG. 21 varies from about- 1 in the case of pleater elements 105 to about 5 in the case of the short pleater elements 109.

The eflectiveness of the pleater shown in FIGS. 14 to 21 is attributable to the disposition of the sheet engaging edges of the pleater elements relative to each other as can best be seen from a consideration of FIGS. 16 through 19. It will be noted from FIG. 16 which shows the rear or approach end of the pleater, that the locus of the pleater edges is crowned due to the fact that the outer pleater elements are generally narrower at the approach end than the inner pleater elements adjacent the central plane of the pleater. This condition exists for both the upper and lower sets of pleater elements. Another important factor which cooperates to give effective pleating can be seen from FIG. 15 from which it is apparent that the central portion of the sheet to be pleated is engaged by the inner pleater elements before the outer pleater elements engage the outer or marginal portions of the sheet.

The crowned effect of the locus of the pleater edges continues from the approach end to the discharge end of the pleater as can be seen from FIGS. 17, 18 which show that the lesser depth of the outer pleater elements continues up to the discharge end of the pleater although to a lesser degree than at the approach or rear end of the pleater.

It will be seen from FIG. 19 showing the forward or discharge end of the pleater that when the sheet emerges from the pleater all of the pleats are of the same depth just as in the previously described form of pleater shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

The pleater disclosed in FIGS. 14 through 21 is capable of forming pleats that are relatively deep compared to the pleats formed by the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4. Furthermore, the second described pleater is adapted to pleat a sheet of greater width than may be pleated by the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4.

The greater effectiveness of the pleater of FIGS. 14 to 21 is attributable in part to the fact that the particular disposition of the pleater elements as disclosed permits a point on the sheet to move transversely inwardly or" the pleater relative to the edges of the pleater elements which engage the sheet. It will be recalled that in the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4 a point on the sheet in engagement with an edge of a pleater element remains in engagement with such edge throughout the entire pleating step. On the other hand, a point on the sheet pleated by the pleater of FIGS. 14 through 21 moves relative to the pleater edges in a transverse direction inwardly toward the central plane of the pleater. Such relative sliding movement in a transverse direction is permitted because of the lesser amount of friction created by the seccond described pleater due to the particular disposition of the pleater edges as above described. In other words, as the sheet is engaged by the pleater the central pleating elements 101, 102, 103 and 104 begin the formation of the central pleats before the corresponding pleats are commenced by the outer pleater elements. Such formation of the central pleats requires that the material of the pleats moves progressively inwardly as the pleater progressively forms the pleats toward the outer marginal portions of the sheet.

The sliding movement of the film in a transverse direction across the pleating edges produces the desirable condition of keeping the film relatively taut across the interleaving pleater edges as the film emerges from the discharge end. This ensures that all pleats are of uniform size when they emerge from the discharge end of the pleater. Because the film is taut between the pleater edges, this prevents bunching or looseness of the film near the center pleats during prolonged processing of roll stock. In other words, the taper on the pleater blades ensures uniform folds or pleats.

The present invention contemplates the formation of pleated material in a continuous ribbon for whatever purpose it is desired. Such formation being a distinct and separate operation from the tying and cutting operations above described. In other words, although the second described pleater may be employed with the apparatus above described for tying and cutting in the same manner as the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4, it is nevertheless contemplated that both forms of pleater may be employed for general pleating operations regardless of the subsequent use of the pleated material.

In FIG. 22 a pleated bag is shown tied at one end with a clip 151. It is understood that this type of bag maybe formed by the apparatus hereinbefore described. However, the pleats shown formed in bag 150 will be of a lesser number and greater depth when the modified form of pleater is employed and ofa greater number and less depth when the pleater of FIGS. 2 and 4 is employed.

The very specific description of the preferred forms of the invention given above is not to be taken as restrictive since it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications in design may be resorted to without departing from the following claims.

I claim:

1. A pleater for forming longitudinally extending pleats in a horizontally elongated sheet of material adapted to be moved longitudinally through said pleater comprising,

a plurality of transversely spaced apart horizontally elongated vertically disposed lower pleater elements extending upwardly into engagement along their upper edges with said sheet for forming upper folds,

a plurality of transversely spaced apart horizontally elongated vertically disposed upper pleater elements extending downwardly into engagement along their lower edges with said sheet for forming lower folds intermediate said upper folds,

said upper and lower elements converging toward a central longitudinally extending central plane in a forward direction relative to the direction of travel of said sheet for converging said folds to form closely adjacent substantially vertically disposed pleats, the inner of said upper and lower pleater elements being substantially longer than the outer elements and the length of said elements changing progressively from the central element to the outer elements on both sides of said central element. 2. A pleater according to claim 1 wherein the upper edges of the inner lower pleater elements are coplanar and the lower edges of the inner upper elements are co- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,589,792 3/1952 Frank et al 9384 X 2,986,076 5/1961 Flint et al 93-84 X FOREIGN PATENTS 479,564 1/1916 France.

BERNARD STICKNEY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PLEATER FOR FORMING LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING PLEATS IN A HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED SHEET OF MATERIAL ADAPTED TO BE MOVED LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID PLEATER COMPRISING, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSELY SPACED APART HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED VERTICALLY DISPOSED LOWER PLEATER ELEMENTS EXTENDING UPWARDLY INTO ENGAGEMENT ALONG THEIR UPER EDGES WITH SAID SHEET FOR FORMING UPPER FOLDS, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSELY SPACED APART HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED VERTICALLY DISPOSED UPPER PLEATER ELEMENTS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY INTO ENGAGEMENT ALONG THEIR LOWER EDGES WITH SAID SHEET FOR FORMING LOWER FOLDS INTERMEDIATE SAID UPPER FOLDS, SAID UPPER AND LOWER ELEMENTS CONVERGING TOWARD A CENTRAL LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CENTRAL PLANE IN A FORWARD DIRECTION RELATIVE TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF AID SHEET FOR CONVERGING SAID FOLDS TO FORM CLOSELY ADJACENT SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED PLEATS, THE INNER OF SAID UPPER AND LOWER PLEATER ELEMENTS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LONGER THAN THE OUTER ELEMENTS AND THE LENGTH OF SAID ELEMENTS CHANGING PROGRESSIVELY FROM THE CENTRAL ELEMENT TO THE OUTER ELEMENTS ON BOTH SIDES OF SAID CENTRAL ELEMENT. 